Tuition fees should be 'affordable' says economy minister

Tuition fees should be "affordable" for students while also supporting the "financial viability" of universities, Stormont's economy minister has said.

Caoimhe Archibald was speaking after Northern Ireland's five universities and university colleges called for tuition fees to rise by more than £1,000 a year.

The Sinn Féin minister was challenged in the Stormont assembly to rule out raising fees, which would increase to £5,831 a year under the proposals.

Archibald said that "ideally student fees would be zero, but we have to work within the financial reality that we have".

The call for a fees increase was sent to Stormont's five main parties.

The letter was signed by the heads of Queen's University Belfast, Ulster University and the Open University in Ireland, and supported by a separate letter from the principals of St Mary's University College and Stranmillis University College.

The letter argued about a third of young people leave Northern Ireland to study elsewhere "due to the continued Northern Ireland Executive policy on funding".

Higher education is the responsibility of the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.

In the assembly on Tuesday, a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member urged the economy minister to "commit to not raising fees under any circumstances".

Sinéad McLaughlin said students were "already at breaking point", with some working over 20 hours per week on top of their studies "just to get by".

In response, Archibald said: "From my perspective ideally student fees would be zero, but we have to work within the financial reality that we have."

She said the current system is "imposed upon us by the British government" and that "years of austerity has had an impact on all of our public services, including our universities".

"So we need to ensure fees are at a level that is affordable for students and maintains the financial viability of universities," she added.

McLaughlin said the response was "neither a yes nor a no".

Tuition fees in Northern Ireland were £4,750 in 2024/25.

Most students take out a loan to cover their tuition fees and living costs, which they then pay back when they begin working after graduation.

In England and Wales students currently pay £9,250, while Scottish students who remain in Scotland to study do not pay tuition fees.

Students in the Republic of Ireland pay a maximum of €2,000 (£1,695) a year in fees.

Ben Friel, president of the National Union of Students and Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI), said last week the proposed rise in fees meant "asking students to bear the brunt of a broken system".

"Education is seen as a burden to the budget at the moment, but it needs to be seen as an investment for our future and our young people," he said.